Shoppers furious after supermarket glitch leaves them without bonus – are you affected?
SHOPPERS have been left furious after a supermarket glitch left them without bonus Nectar Points coupons.
Sainsbury’s was offering a huge deal where customers signed up to its Nectar Points rewards scheme could get up to £25 free over the weekend.
Shoppers who spent over £20 on their groceries in store on February 4 were eligible to get a printed coupon for bonus points.
Under the supermarket’s “Big Points Bonanza” event, customers could get a coupon worth between 50 and 5,000 points which equates to up to £25.
But some have complained about not receiving the bonus – despite claiming they met the qualifying spend.
One shopper posted on social media: “Spent £30 in Sainsbury’s yesterday, expecting to receive a voucher.
“No voucher and my points have cleared this morning with no extra.”
While another said: “I’m one of many who didn’t get any sort of printed coupon this afternoon following my shop at Sainsbury’s for the Big Points Bonanza.”
While another posted that it was “very disappointing” that they had spent over the limit and missed out.
Shoppers were meant to get the coupon after swiping their Nectar card or scanning their app before checking out.
They would then be issued with a printed voucher.
Nectar customers shopping with SmartShop in supermarkets were also eligible to receive a coupon.
Some shoppers said managers at the store weren’t aware of the promotion.
One raged: “Nothing happened nor the staff knew about it? Please advise as that really poor and I only made my shopping trip today cos wanted to see how many points can I win.”
Sainsbury’s Big Points Bonanza also included several other giveaways too, which ended this weekend.
This included a prize draw where 50 lucky shoppers will win 1million Nectar points each, worth at least £5,000.
A Nectar spokesperson said that a “technical error” meant some customers couldn’t collect prizes.
They added: “We apologise for the disappointment this will have caused and we are working to find a solution for our customers as soon as possible.”
We’ve asked exactly how many customers were affected, and we’ll update this story when we know more.
Sainsbury’s shoppers aren’t the only ones who have been hit by glitches recently.
Last year, Tesco shoppers spotted a self-scan glitch that could leave them with a big bill at the end.
While Asda shoppers were left furious after a supermarket glitch meant their delivery passes were cancelled for no reason.
What to do if you haven’t received your coupon
If you haven’t received your coupon, then there are a number of steps you can take to get help.
It’s worth contacting the supermarket on social media.
The Sun has seen Sainsbury’s’ customer service account on Twitter replying to customers telling them to send a DM about the problem.
Sainsbury’s has also been replying to some shoppers on Twitter telling them to return to the store or call Nectar on 0344 811 0811 to get help.
Make sure to have details about your shopping trip to hand, such as your receipt.
What is a Sainsbury’s Nectar Card?
Sainsbury’s loyalty scheme is called the Nectar Card.
Shoppers earn points when they spend money at Sainsbury’s, Sainsbury’s petrol stations and other retailers including eBay and Dulux Decorator Centres.
You can get 1 point per £1 on all qualifying spends at Sainsbury’s supermarkets and online.
You can also collect 1 point for every 1 litre of fuel when you fill up at Sainsbury’s petrol stations.
One Nectar Card point is worth 0.5p, so you have to get 200 Nectar points to get £1.
In total, 500 points are worth £2.50 at Sainsbury’s.
Once you have enough points you can turn them into vouchers to buy your next food shop at Sainsbury’s.
You can use the points to bag plane tickets at Expedia, train tickets from Eurostar or cinema tickets for Vue cinemas too.